


Glitched

by Orajje



Category: Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika | Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Genre: Being Homura Is Suffering, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-18 12:09:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29609208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Orajje/pseuds/Orajje
Summary: Homura's shield glitches out, and sends her to a unique timeline.A timeline where Madoka is already dead.
Relationships: Akemi Homura & Kaname Madoka, Akemi Homura & Miki Sayaka, Kaname Madoka & Miki Sayaka, Kaname Madoka & Shizuki Hitomi, Miki Sayaka & Shizuki Hitomi
Comments: 2
Kudos: 30





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> a series of vaguely connected snippets and whatnot. going to be posting a lot of similar things I won't quite be taking 100% seriously.

Homura watched as Madoka’s witch filled the horizon once again, feeling the power flowing over the world, almost seeming to call to her. She could feel herself almost being pulled, mentally and physically, like it had a gravitational pull. Yet at the same time, it was little more than a whisper. A whisper telling her she could relax, she could stop,  _ she could have salvatio-  _ no. Even as the power of Madoka’s witch threatened to force her to relax. Made her want to fall asleep, and never wake up. She fought against it.

She felt herself considering just… taking a break. Even as she forced herself to focus. She wondered whether it would be so bad just to… take some time, and not have to do anything for awhile. Take a rest, and not have to watch her friends die again, allow herself to finally  _ relax  _ for the first time in  _ years. _

She forced herself to activate her shield before the witch could affect her any further. Not thinking about the potential consequences of using her powers while her emotions were being messed with.

When she woke up she didn’t notice anything wrong at first, but after a few days, she noticed something wrong as she guarded Madoka’s house, and realized she couldn’t feel Madoka’s potential. She quickly stopped time, and looked into Madoka’s room, then she realized it looked unnervingly empty, at least compared to what it  _ should _ have been. She explored the house in stopped time, looking for any information of what was going on, but couldn’t really find much. Except she didn’t see the standard school supplies Madoka used around.

Thoroughly concerned, she went home, and immediately looked into the Kaname family through the internet. Looking for any possible info she could gather for anything that could be different than normal in this timeline.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t hard to find.

Madoka had committed suicide  _ several months ago _ . She felt herself become filled with terror, especially since she could feel her power wasn’t ready yet.  _ Her power wasn’t ready, even though Madoka was dead. _ She felt herself panic, but quickly suppressed the negative emotions. She couldn’t allow herself to become a witch, she couldn’t allow this to be where it ended. 

She was horrified that Madoka had likely been witch kissed, was angry Mami hadn’t saved the girl, and was filled with rage at the world for how it had killed Madoka once again, without even giving her a chance to save her this time. She had no idea what to do at this point though.

… She’d have to prepare, if Madoka wasn’t here, then she’d prepare to face Walpurgisnacht next time. Especially since she’d have more time to do things without… worrying about Madoka…

She shook her head, she couldn’t let herself stop and process her grief. To do so would be suicide, and if she died Madoka was gone for good. So she began gathering, always focusing on something in an attempt to outrun her despair. Then she realized she still had school… She almost thought about not going, but if she did something so abrupt… she could use a tiny bit of routine right now, she might not do the schoolwork, but it would be more inconvenient to just… not show up.

The direct reminder would hurt, but she could break if she lost focus.

So she would go.

\---

Sayaka waited in her seat while Saotome ranted, avoiding looking behind herself at Hitomi. Not out of any form of malice, but…  ~~ she couldn’t bear to look at that empty desk. ~~

She wished… She wished Madoka was still here. Having to meet up with Hitomi, and then heading into school without their best friend  _ hurt _ . It pained her more than she could describe. But this wasn’t some story, wasn’t some world where everything would turn out fine. She wished it was, but after…  _ that _ … she just couldn’t think of the world like that anymore. Let alone after Kyousuke was hurt as well.

The worst part was that she could feel herself moving on, slowly. So very  _ slowly _ . She wanted Madoka to still be here, her best friend, one of the kindest people she’d ever met. 

It felt like there was a Madoka shaped hole in the universe. All she could do was… try to do what her friend would have done. Try to be kind, and understanding. Try to help others, no matter what she feels about them. Even becoming the new health representative in some attempt to fill that void. 

Then she hears Saotome finally stop, and begin introducing the transfer student. She remembered something about that, the girl had been in the hospital for awhile, so she might need help.

When she saw the girl appear, she was shocked by how gorgeous the girl was, almost looking back to talk to- right. She focused on the girl, Homura Akemi. When the class was over, she made sure to ask the girl if she had to go to the nurses office, barely noticing the slight look of confusion and pain on the girls face before it disappeared so fast she wondered whether it had even been there.

The walk had been… awkward. Akemi wasn’t exactly friendly, but she noticed odd reactions occasionally, somewhat familiar reactions, like she was holding herself back from doing something she would regret.

… ah, it reminded her of herself after Madoka died… the girl was full of pent up emotions and wasn’t sure what to do with them.

Well then, she would have to be her friend, and maybe help with that burden. Just a bit.


	2. Chapter 2

Sayaka tried her best to interact with Homura, which turned out rather well, as the girl hadn’t really disputed her using her first name, and when she invited the girl to sit with them at lunch, she ended up accepting. Homura was quiet, but she hung around them. Not to mention that the girl proved herself to be the smartest girl in the school, as well as a record breaker when she was in PE.

Honestly, she was a little shocked. But she still tried to invite Homura with her to the mall with Hitomi. She looked conflicted for a moment, but then just seemed sad as she said she had nothing else to do. One of the many things that had done it today. Sayaka wasn’t sure what exactly was doing it, and it was hard to see, often being covered up in seconds, but Homura’s face dropped a bit more each time.

So she did her best to distract the girl, talking to the girl and Hitomi, and not being offended when Homura didn’t respond. Doing her best to make the girl her friend.

When she said goodbye to the girl, her determination solidified.

She did her best, and hung out with the girl when she could. Watching the girl was painful at times, especially when  _ she _ had to try to convince the girl to do schoolwork. Thankfully, Hitomi helped, which was great because she was immensely unqualified for that conversation. It was still hard though, and often failed. Homura just didn’t seem to care.

She almost wanted to ask about it, but stomped the urge down. Instead, she learned. She learned things like how when Homura seemed nervous, she would flip her hair, although that didn't happen often, or how Homura often seemed a second away from using an excuse to not hang out, before she seemed to realize she didn't actually have something better to do. Sayaka always made sure to pull her along before she began making fake excuses. Homura seemed annoyed at her antics everytime, occasionally even saying it, but she never actually asked her to stop.

So she'd keep doing it, for her new friend.

\---

Homura wasn't sure how to feel about this. Unlike every other timeline, Sayaka was… Sayaka was her friend again. It had been many timelines since the last time that had happened, and never so intensely as now. The blue haired wannabe hero was so dedicated to becoming her friend that she hadn't been able to dredge up more than scraps of resistance, and even those had quickly fallen.

She hated it.

She hated that it was all going to be undone.

In a heartbeat, all of this progress with the girl who was usually her biggest detractor would be erased. She would have to completely undo the timeline to save Madoka.  ~~ She ignored the small, exhausted voice that asked whether it would really be so bad to just stay here, stay where she had a friend, and hadn't made enemies. ~~ The Incubator had accosted her on occasion, but she'd ignored it. Attacking it would only make Mami angry, and it would accomplish nothing.

Which brought her to the subject of Mami. She hadn't met Mami this timeline, going out of her way to avoid the golden haired girl. She wasn't sure if she would be able to keep herself composed if she did. Especially if Mami had failed to protect Madoka from a witch.

It was… odd, having so little to do. While she made several ammunition raids, especially over the weekend, and hunted witches often, she still had so little to keep an eye on compared to what she usually did.

But Walpurgisnacht still approached, as she always did.

She readied herself for the fight,  ~~ and to lose her friend. ~~

\---

Sayaka watched the storm outside, and worried. Homura had gotten more and more closed off recently, as well as edgy. Like she was a step away from lashing out. Not to mention that the girl wasn't in the evacuation center. She tried calling, over and over, but all her calls went to voicemail- just as she thought that, her latest call went through. But Homura was faster. "Is it important!" Was yelled from the other side. 

She quickly regained her steam and responded. "Where are you?! I can't find you in the evacuation center and I'm worried!" That left her a moment of silence from both sides, which allowed her to hear the storm(?) through the phone. Loud blasts and shattering sounds came through, as well as the constant wind and rain. Dread filled her stomach at just how  _ close  _ they sounded.

"... Is that it Miki?" That hurt, she had managed to get Homura to call her Sayaka weeks ago. Then there was the… odd tone in her voice. "I am fine, do not call me again until the storm is over- Ah!" Just as Homura was presumably about to call, she let out a cry of pain,  _ and the call disconnected _ .

Sayaka didn't even think about it, she ran. Running into and through the storm looking for her friend. There were several points where she thought she saw  _ something _ flying in the distance, but never got a good look.

Then she saw something get flung directly into a building in the next block, and as she ran past, she looked in curiosity-  _ it was Homura?! _ She immediately stopped and ran towards the bleeding girl, who was… wearing a strange costume? She didn't care, she could barely keep herself from completely losing control when her eyes opened and looked at her.

She still ran over, checking the wounds and being disturbed by how bad they were.  ~~_ Was she going to lose another friend? _ ~~ "Homura! What are you doing out here?! Nevermind, we need to get you help!" She quickly yelled over the rain, and she felt fear claw its way through her gut when Homura looked at her, and shook her head.

"It won't matter soon. There is no one to help me anyways." She felt  _ terror _ fill her very being. 

Was… was her friend giving up…?  ~~_ Was really she going to lose another friend…? _ ~~ "No! Please! I can't lose anyone else! Anything but that!" Sayaka hugged the girl, tears mixing with the rain. 

Then she heard a shaky breath from Homura, and she stepped back enough to look at the girls face. The girl who was looking at her in shock, before she just seemed regretful, blood still running down her face. “I’m sorry” she said.

Then Sayaka heard a click.

She had no words to describe the sudden sensations she was subjected to, and then-

Everything was dark.

She tried to open her eyes, and found herself in her room. She felt confusion fill her, and quickly checked her calendar-  _ what? _ It was over a  _ month _ in the past!? Or… had it been a dream??? She couldn’t tell… it had been so realistic… if it had been real though, then that meant she’d been given a second chance… she’d have to save her new friend. First things first though unfortunately, Hitomi would be worried if she skipped school.

So she got ready, and headed off.


	3. Chapter 3

When Sayaka met up with Hitomi, she was about to think it had all been some odd dream. That nothing had happened. Which was why when she attempted to keep walking, Hitomi’s words hit her like a truck. “Did you forget someone Sayaka?” She froze, for a moment thinking the girl meant Homura, but that was a couple days in the future of her weird dream! She wasn’t actually real. But she turned around as Hitomi said, “ah, there she is.” and felt her eyes begin to tear up after a moment after she saw the girl running their way.

It was Madoka.

**_What?_ **

She stared blankly at the two as her two best friends talked, until Madoka looked at her. “Oh! Are you okay Sayaka!?” shit.

She quickly wiped away her tears on her sleeve, and put on a smile. “Sorry about that, I just had a  _ really _ weird dream last night.” The two seemed to accept that, at least mostly, giving her time to think while they talked to each other.

She had no idea what just happened. Whether or not she’d gone insane, or accidentally messed up her own memories with that weird dream. But she did know one thing, her friend was alive. Her best friend was alive, but she had no idea what happened.

… Did she need to know? With both her friends alive, nothing was wrong, at least technically. Things would be happy.

Why did she miss Homura though…? The girl didn’t exist… probably. She shook her head, she was probably just really disoriented by a really weird dream.

The next few days were odd, but nice. She had to hold herself back whenever something came up for the health representative, as it wasn’t actually her position. Not to mention that sometimes her friends talked about something that happened between them in the last few months and she just… didn’t remember in the slightest.

It was unnerving.

But things were slowly clicking into place, and everything would be fine.

Although, then Madoka said she had been told they would be getting a transfer student, one who she would likely need to escort to the nurse's office since she was the health representative and they had some stuff going on. Sayaka felt a chill down her spine at the… strange coincidence. Even the oddly reminiscent homework had just been weird, but this was getting creepy.

… Still, even if Madoka was still around…

She offered to help her escort them, which caused Madoka to smile and nod.  ~~ God she’d missed her smile. ~~

Then the class started, Saotome’s Deja vu inducing rant ending in the transfer student being announced and-

_ Oh god what??? _

It was Homura. Same long black hair, purple eyes, expression of steel, and all. Even writing her name the same way.

She stared at the girls back as class continued, thinking rapidly. Firstly, while she had no idea what  _ was _ going on, it was obvious that the dream hadn’t just been a dream, which left her with countless questions she didn’t even know where to begin to answer. Secondly, it left her with the task of becoming the girls friend again. She had no idea what was going on, but she likely still needed help with… whatever had made her so sad under the surface in the dream.

So when class was over, she quickly got up, watching Homura do the same, and then begin  _ walking her way _ .  ~~_ What? This hadn’t happened in the dream. What was going on? _ ~~ Just as she was about to say something, she felt something in her stomach drop as the girl walked past her.

She looked back, as Homura asked Madoka to escort her to the nurses office.

Well that wouldn’t do, she had way too many questions about whatever the hell was going on! “I’ll be helping too!” She said from behind the black haired girl, making her flinch slightly. She wasn’t proud of it, but at least after the girl turned to look at her, she didn’t reject the offer. Leading to the three awkwardly walking down the halls towards the nurses office, Madoka tried to hold a conversation while Homura answered with as few words as possible. Sayaka watched, feeling concerned as she noticed some of Madoka’s questions were making Homura  _ angry. _

Something was wrong here, Homura was many things, but not really one who got angry for no reason… she thought about that one ice cream shop, the one she had taken Homura to on a relatively good day.

“Do you like ice cream? I know this really good place, even if it's a bit of a walk from the school.” She almost cringed, realizing it could probably be misinterpreted as a pick up line. Thankfully, one thing that had definitely stayed the same was Homura being as oblivious as a brick, so she didn’t catch it. But she did react weirdly.

Instead of the sadness from last time, or even the semi rejections she had thrown out to most activities last time, the girl clenched her fists. Like something about the thought pained her-

… Sayaka took a look at the girl, the second biggest difference in the dream so far, the first being Madoka’s existence period. She would admit, she could make mistakes, and wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed. But she wasn’t an idiot, at least not all the time. Not to mention, she remembered when the dream ended.

It ended while she held Homura, a click making the storm disappear in an instant.

… welp, time to do something reckless.

“... Hey, have we met somewhere before  Freezing Beauty ? I feel like I’ve seen you before on like… a stormy day.” The sheer speed with which Homura jerked around, eyes wide, shocked Sayaka. She had been hoping for a reaction from that nickname, the one she’d gotten after the ice cream incident in the dream. But hadn’t quite expected the sheer  _ intensity _ the girl stared at her with.

Suddenly Homura was in her face. “Come to my house after school.” she gulped, suddenly feeling a little hot given the lack of space between them. Before she could even open her mouth to respond though, Madoka made herself known, making them both jolt.

“Um, don’t we have the mall after this, and um… what's happening?” Homura froze.  _ ha! _ While she tried to figure out how to explain in some way, but before she could Madoka continued. “Did you also… see her in a weird dream?” Madoka said, looking beyond embarrassed for even mentioning it.

**_“Both of you will be coming to my house after school”_ ** The intense look froze them both, quickly making them both nod.

… What was even going on at this point?


	4. Chapter 4

Sayaka followed Homura, mostly sure at this point that the dream had been real, even if that didn’t explain what Madoka’s dream was. On the way to the nurses office she even asked about Madoka’s dream, while Homura obviously listened. Madoka was a little cagey at first, but said she remembered running down a hallway until she opened a door. After that, her thoughts had been overwhelmed with dark urges, and then she ended up back in the corridor. She seemed to be avoiding whatever the dark urges were actually tempting her to do, or what happened, but given what she knew… she shivered at the thought that her friend possibly just relived her own suicide attempt.

The description continued from there, her running down to another door in search of… something. When she opened it, she found herself high above the ground in a city being destroyed. A storm whirling around her, and Homura fighting… something, while wearing a weird outfit. “Hey, what did the outfit look like?” Sayaka asked

While Madoka said she couldn’t remember very much, what she did describe sounded spot on to the outfit she remembered Homura wearing last time… during a bizarre storm. Sayaka could definitely tell something was up now, especially since Homura was dead silent the whole time. She had figured out how to read the girl pretty well during her dream(?), so she knew the girl was staying close and had no idea how to express whatever she was feeling.

They ended up getting to the nurses office before Madoka could ask about her dream, and the day got kind of awkward after that. Although Sayaka did her best to smooth everything over, including  forcefully dragging Homura with them to hang out with Hitomi, and telling her that while both her friends had stuff to do would be suspicious, they would have plenty of time after the mall when Hitomi left. Homura wasn’t pleased by the answer, but accepted it.

It was a little unnerving though, to see Homura seem  _ motivated _ . In the dream(?), she’d been lazy, and had barely had an excuse to do anything. Just generally seeming sad. Sayaka had seen something underneath it, some embers of… determination? Now though those embers were a full on inferno pushing her forward. Seeming almost impatient even when acting polite and putting up an emotionless mask.

In the end, when they finally said goodbye to Hitomi, she watched the full intensity of the girls eyes staring her down again as soon as the girl was gone. Homura’s face became completely lightning focused on them.

The trip to the apartment was quiet, and when they got there Homura did… something. “Tell me about your ‘dream’ Sayaka Miki.” Sayaka almost shouted back in retaliation that she was pretty sure at this point that she had given her first name privileges, but before she could, she noticed something. It was hard to see, but Homura was actually slightly scared. She swallowed, as she realized there was a decent chance the black haired girl had activated whatever this was, knowing it would set things back somehow.

But hadn’t expected her to remember.

Hell, given how Homura had been trying to push her away, she had possibly known for a while beforehand.

So she told her story. Every. Last. Bit.

Madoka was horrified, and Homura just stared blankly, before lightly confirming that it had been real.

“That reminds me, what was with the weird outfit? How do you know all of this is real?” Homura seemed to take a moment, she looked about half a second away from not telling them, but Sayaka grabbed the girl's shoulder. “ _ Please? _ ” She practically begged. She had no idea what kind of expression she had on her face, but evidently it was enough.

So Homura told them about witches and magical girls, whenever she seemed to slow down, or contemplate telling them something, Sayaka squeezed the girls hand after moving her own down to it. She told them about the Incubator, about wishes, about prices. About everything. Even bringing out a small purple and glowing gem she said was her soul.

Telling them about witches, what they did, and how they were born. Which caused Sayaka to almost puke as she considered why Madoka might have… done that last time. She eyed Homura though, sure she was hiding something. Specifically, she was pretty sure she knew what the girl was hiding.

When she said it out loud, Homura looked beyond shocked, but slowly told them her story. Telling them in a halting tone, and obviously skipping past information. She hadn’t even made it to the halfway point, that she started sobbing. Sayaka immediately wrapped her arms around their friend, Madoka joining in shortly after.

This was beyond anything she’d ever thought, and as Homura continued, Sayaka realized how truly broken her friend was.

And realized she would help the girl in any way she could, even if it killed her. 

\---

Madoka watched her best friend-, no, both her best friends break down in tears. She kept her arms wrapped around them, even as she had no idea what to do. Homura knew her, likely fairly well even, but technically she hadn’t met the girl before that strange dream. Not that that would stop her from considering the girl her best friend considering everything.

Then there was Sayaka. She had thought something was odd about her for the last few days, but had dismissed it since she seemed mostly fine. Now she knew that her best friend had been forced to deal with her suicide, likely by witches kiss, not that Sayaka knew that till now. She had to deal with several months without her, and now they both had to play catch up.

She would learn as much about them as she could, she wanted them to truly feel like they were her friends. So she would make sure of it.

She would survive for them, no matter what.


	5. Chapter 5

Homura didn’t quite know what to do. This was so far outside the bounds of her experience over the timelines that she couldn’t figure out what to do. All her plans had been flushed down the toilet. Well… she took a moment to think. To plan.

As long as Madoka and Sayaka knew they shouldn't contract, she just had to keep them safe and ally with Mami and Kyoko. Possibly some others if she can. If she thought of this as a game of chess, she had been stuck as a single queen. With only some control over the king in dangerous situations. Now she had more control over the king, and another pawn who could keep the Incubator from being able to completely counter her.

She mentally recoiled a little, thinking about her friends in such a way felt wrong. Too much like the Incubators own extreme objectivity. She had said she’d go over some more specifics to watch for later, but that meant she was alone. She wanted to remind herself that her friends mattered…

… Maybe she could attempt to remind herself why she was doing this by thinking in previous timelines. Just as she reached for the memories, the nickname from earlier reared its head and then…

_ She was following Sayaka to an ice cream shop. With Madoka dead she truly didn’t have anything better to do, and Sayaka had been strangely forceful all timeline. It was odd. Was this just what happens if Madoka dies before Sayaka? She had no idea. _

_ She wasn’t sure whether she wanted to. _

_ As Sayaka dragged her along by the hand, the girl kept going on and on about shows and movies. Letting her stay quiet as she listened to the girl talk, not really expecting many response’s beyond some short and polite ones. _

_ Then they reached it, and Sayaka quickly pulled her to a table, the two of them sitting across from each other as they chose some ice cream. Homura ended up getting a relatively simple order, while Sayaka got more creative, practically loading her’s with toppings. _

_ They began eating for a minute, Sayaka smiling at her the whole time. She shifted nervously a bit. She… wasn’t really used to people smiling at her like that. Madoka had, in timelines where they had been friends. Same with Mami in early timelines even if that attention was split. But only rarely did Sayaka really like her, let alone give her the kind of affection she was now. She ate a bit faster in an attempt to get the odd thoughts about how pleasant it was to just relax with one of her friends.  _ ~~_ It wasn’t all that effective. _ ~~

_ Then she suddenly had a headache, and she held her head. Sayaka looked at her shocked for a moment, then started giggling. Just as Homura was about to snap at her, Sayaka began talking. “Haven’t had a brain freeze in a while have you Homura?” she said, continuing her giggles. _

_ … A brain freeze? _

_ She waited a moment, letting the pain fade, before responding. “You… are not entirely wrong.” She wasn’t even sure when the last time she had ice cream was, maybe it was with an early Madoka? Or possibly earlier? She couldn’t quite remember. _

_ Sayaka giggled a bit more, then took a spoonful and held it out to her. “Come on, have some of this then! If it’s been so long why don’t you have something a bit sweeter!”  _

_ “I am fine-” She tried to deny it, but Sayaka quickly interrupted her. _

_ “Nope! You are having some!” _

_ She sighed, tired and not really wanting to argue with the girl. She didn’t even think about it as she ate it off the spoon. Some part of her felt like the way she did it mattered, but the rest of her was too tired to care, letting the flavor linger in her mouth before returning to her own ice cream. Sayaka’s face became oddly red, but she could barely figure out how to get the girl to do something in a normal timeline. She was just going to leave whatever that was alone. _

_ After a few moment’s thought, Sayaka spoke. “W-well then, you really are quite the Freezing Beauty!” Homura looked up, slightly confused. “What? Don’t like your new nickname freezy?” She felt a small spike of… irritation(?) and quickly began ignoring Sayaka as she finished. _

_ This would all be erased anyways, it didn’t feel good to do nice things with Sayaka.  _ _ It didn’t. _

_ … She still carefully wrapped up the memory, and stashed it with the rest of the little bits of happiness she's squirrelled away. _

Homura wondered what she should do with herself now. She finally had one of her friends with her, one of them remembered.

She shook her head. It wouldn’t matter if they died. None of this would.

She got out of her seat, and went off to hunt witches for the night.


	6. Chapter 6

Sayaka wasn’t sure how to help Homura. The black haired girl had been clear that the one thing she wanted them to do was avoiding contracting at all costs. That becoming a magical girl was the worst fate possible.

But Sayaka couldn't stop thinking about how _useless_ she was to Homura currently. All she could so was-

… Actually, could she do something? She knew Homura wasn't all that great at actually talking to people. Not to mention… she had been through a lot. An unimaginable amount. With practically no help or breaks.

One way to help, would be to simply continue doing what she had been doing. Be Homura’s friend. She could understand Homura not wanting her to contract, because Sayaka wasn’t sure what she would do if Madoka died again.

Hell, she wasn’t sure wasn’t sure she would do it Homura died-

She shook her head. That was a dangerous path to walk down. 

Her mind was still conflicted though. Even if today was the day after…

Maybe… she could set up a sleepover? Even bring along Hitomi to keep any magical talk away. She was pretty sure Hitomi didn't have extra lessons today, so as long as they had a study session, they should be fine.

Madoka and Hitomi were easy to convince, as were their parents. Homura though… she was starting to feel spoiled by how easy it had been last timeline. She ended up using Madoka’s safety against the girl, saying it would be easier to defend the girl from the Incubator while with them.

She was going to be annoyed if the girl continued to be this hard to drag around.


	7. Chapter 7

Homura was dragged to Madoka’s house, still somewhat wondering how she got convinced into joining this sleepover. It had been countless timelines since she’d last been a part of one. At least one that wasn’t purely or mostly practical. Kyoko didn’t have a home after all. Other than that though, she could scarcely remember the last time. She was pretty sure it had been one of the early Madoka’s. Before she started pushing her friends away.

Maybe some usually ignored nostalgia or _want_ had been what made it so easy for Sayaka to convince her. She did have things she had been planning to do after all. She still hadn’t gotten a spare grief seed for Mami either. Not to mention she always needed more firepower to bring against Walpurgisnacht.

Although when it came right down to it, there was a reason she hadn’t wanted to go that was far more motivating than the others.

She didn’t want to get close again, and have it all stripped away. She could hardly bear the thought of losing this current version of Sayaka already. Let alone a version of Madoka who believed her, and seemed to already trust her to some degree. Probably through a combination of trusting Sayaka and the girl's own kind heart. After the last timeline even Hitomi would hurt a bit.

It would be near unbearable to lose all of this.

Yet they seemed determined to drag her in further. Make her care.

She took a shaky breath as silently as possible before continuing to follow.

This was going to be a long night.

* * *

  
  


Hitomi watched her friends as they brought along Homura Akemi. She didn’t know much about the girl yet, but Sayaka had reacted oddly to seeing the girl, then latched on so hard that it made her wonder… Not to mention that Madoka didn’t quite seem to know how to act around Homura, but didn’t quite seem willing to leave her alone. So she watched as the cool beauty walked, the girl at her side not really seeming to know how to be an active participant in the conversation. Not that Hitomi was one to talk right now, considering she was mostly politely leaving the conversation between Madoka and Sayaka alone. Only answering if she felt it was appropriate.

Whatever oddness was involved with the two and Homura seemed to extend between them as well. They were obviously… awkward around each other, nervously glancing at the other at random times. But they also seemed closer than before. She almost wondered whether the three of them had… gotten together. She almost blurted it out, but held herself back. That didn’t seem right to her.

So all she could do was watch, and try to understand what about her friends had changed so drastically.

When they walked into Madoka’s house, Madoka’s dad greeted them, and soon they were in Madoka’s bedroom, sitting around a little awkwardly.

Then Sayaka got a smirk on her face, and said. “Hey freezing beauty, what’s your favorite activity for when you sleepover?”

Homura looked away for a moment. “I… barely remember the last time I had a sleepover.”

Sayaka cringed, then her face lit up after a moment. Before she lunged. “Get over here!”

Homura froze, but then Sayaka leapt onto her. Before Homura could react, Sayaka’s hands ended up at the girl's sides. Causing Hitomi to be very grateful to not be Sayaka’s target as she tickled Homura. The black haired girl vaguely struggled as she failed to truly do anything but laugh under the girls fingers. She slammed her hands against the floor a bit, which were oddly loud, but she didn’t directly hit Sayaka as the girl straddled her stomach and tickled wherever she could.

Then she flinched away as she felt something at her side. She realized what was happening, trying to fight back as Madoka began tickling her. Laughter filled the room for several minutes as they struggled, but eventually they all stopped and sat down normally again. As she slowly breathed, she noticed Homura was now sitting in a way that roughly put Madoka between her and Sayaka.

She giggled.

Then Madoka said something. “Hey Homura?”

“Yes?” Homura said, with remarkable composure considering she’d been nearly rolling around on the ground laughing a minute earlier.

“W… would it be alright if I played with your hair?” Madoka asked nervously,causing Homura to give her a wide eyed look. “I’m sorry, you don’t have to… in fact nevermind-”

“It’s fine Madoka, feel free.”

Hitomi felt a bit jealous as she watched as Madoka began feeling the hair and then braiding it. It was a slightly confusing feeling, but she couldn’t tell if it would be overstepping her boundaries to ask…

Before she could say anything though, Sayaka noticed her staring. “Hey Homura? I think Hitomi would like to join in!” The tone was teasing, but then she noticed that Homura just nodded. Eyes leaning towards closing. It was a bit odd, since it wasn’t all that late yet. Had Homura stayed up late last night, or was it really just that relaxing?

Either way, after the confirmation she moved to the other side and began braiding as well. Sayaka took the opportunity to throw herself over Homura’s legs, looking up at the girl as Homura glared down.

When they were done, Madoka used her new ribbons to tie off the braids, letting her hair down. Which seemingly prompted Sayaka to say. “Ok, it’s my turn now! Make me beautiful!”

Hitomi and Madoka moved on to the girl, quickly putting her hair in a ponytail. While she was doing that, she felt Homura lightly touch her hair. She managed to hold herself back from the instinctual shiver of being touched by someone new, but let the girl continue playing with her own hair. Her silence being taken as the confirmation it was.

Then she felt the girl slowly doing something, when Homura was done, she brought out a mirror and saw there was now a single long braid going down her back.

She smiled, even as Madoka’s dad called them down for dinner.

She hadn’t known the girl very long, and to make things harder the girl wasn’t very talkative, but if this was a possible indication of the future… Then she was sure they would be good friends.

She wasn’t sure if she liked the braid enough to continue using one when they went back to school, but it was nice to have a different hair style for a bit!

It was certainly helpful when Tatsuya accidentally launched a bit of food in her direction later, thankfully whizzing over her shoulder.

She giggled. “Well thank you Akemi san for saving me from the dreaded vegetables.”  
  
Homura stared at her blankly for a moment, but then responded with. “You’re welcome.”

Hitomi heard Madoka and Sayaka giggle after that… It was really nice.

Sayaka hadn’t been as cheery lately, she’d tried to force it, but it had always felt false.

But tonight it felt real.

If only she could be with her friends more often… This was nice!

It wasn’t going to be fun studying later though.


End file.
